Posted By
Christopher Dempsey
On
October 31, 2012 @ 10:26 am
In
College Sports,Colorado State University,Football,Mountain West Conference |
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Kansas State QB Collin Klein (Jamie Squire, Getty Images)

FORT COLLINS – Five hundred and fifty miles from Manhattan, Kan., lies one of Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein’s biggest fans as Klein charges toward the Heisman Trophy:

Colorado State quarterback M.J. McPeek.

“He’s my frontrunner,” McPeek said, smiling wide.

The duo both hail from Colorado, though many miles separated McPeek at Rangeview High in Aurora and Klein at Loveland High. But as fate had it, the two crossed paths at KSU — McPeek just hanging on the roster after the firing of the coach that brought him there, Ron Prince, and Klein, who seemed tailor-made for the offense the new coach, Bill Snyder, was bringing back.

Boy was he.

Klein began carving out a name for himself last season, but has kicked the door in this year. A true dual-threat quarterback, the senior has thrown for 1,630 yards and 12 touchdowns while bashing through defenses as a runner for 634 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Those numbers have made Klein not just McPeek’s frontrunner but the national frontrunner for the Heisman as well.

But it is friendship that McPeek cherishes most.

“I knew he was a player,” McPeek said. “The kid can run. He’s 6-6, 250 (pounds). Ran like a 4.5 40 (yard dash) at the time. That’s why he fits so well in that offense. That’s why I ended up leaving, because we were complete opposites. But I don’t know if anybody foresaw Heisman Trophy in the picture or anything like that. But he’s a tremendous athlete, he’s a great person. We still talk every once in a while, still have his number. He lives right down in Loveland. Every time he’s back I try to talk to him and see him. It’s definitely pretty exciting to see it.”

McPeek catches KSU games when he can, and scans the box scores, keeping up on the last Klein news.

“He’s a great kid,” McPeek said. “He’s a good friend, good person; he’s just a great guy all around. Being a great athlete is just kind of the cherry on top for him because he is just an amazing guy. Just a freak athlete. It’s a tremendous opportunity, I’m glad he took advantage of it, it’s working out well for him and I couldn’t be happier for him.”